Today's Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• European Stocks Decline for a Third Day; AB InBev Falls. European stocks declined for a third day as investors speculated that economic fundamentals don’t justify current stock valuations and Alcoa Inc. (AA) cut its forecast for global aluminum demand. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV slipped 1.2 percent after a report that the U.S. may block its $20 billion takeover of Grupo Modelo SAB. BAE Systems Plc (BA/) fell after abandoning plans to merge with European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. Imagination Technologies Group Plc (IMG) lost 9.4 percent as analysts recommended selling the shares. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) dropped 0.6 percent to 268.71 at the close of trading, the lowest level since Sept. 28.
• Merkel Ally Michelbach Rejects IMF Demands to Cut German Surplus. Hans Michelbach, lawmaker from Angela Merkel's coalition partner the CSU, says the IMF demand to limit Germany's trade surplus is reminiscent of a planned economy policy that should be part of the past, according to an e-mailed statement. Michelbach says the IMF focused only on European debt crisis and "completely ignores" inflationary risks from liquidity expansion by U.S. central bank.
• Lagarde Signals IMF Role in Europe Rescues May Not Need Cash. The International Monetary Fund doesn’t need to lend money to Spain to help the country tackle its fiscal crisis, Managing Director Christine Lagarde indicated in an interview today. “Some people say unless you have skin in the game, meaning money, you are not really respected, you are not heard,” Lagarde said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Sara Eisen in Sendai, Japan. “I am not so focused on that as I am on the monitoring. I think we would rather act in our framework, use one of the tools that is frequently used, but as I said we can be flexible.” 
• Dimon Says Bond-Market Turn Assured on U.S. Budget Impasse. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said bond markets would spurn U.S. debt if lawmakers fail to reach an agreement to address the nation’s deficit. “It’s virtually assured” that markets would react that way, Dimon said today in Washington at an event held by the Council on Foreign Relations. “The question is when and how.” 
• Turkey Threatens Even Stronger Response to Syrian Fire. Turkey’s top general warned of a tougher response if Syrian shells continue to land on Turkish soil following six days of retaliatory barrages by his forces against President Bashar al-Assad’s army. General Necdet Ozel, chief of the Turkish general staff, made the comments today as he inspected troops in Akcakale as well as the border town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, CNN-Turk television said. Ozel observed Syrian territory through a thermal camera before speaking to soldiers in a foxhole in Suruc, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
• Fed Says Economy Grows ‘Modestly’ as Housing, Autos Improve.
• Record Heating Bills Seen in U.S. as Colder Winter Forecast. U.S. households that use heating oil will face record prices this winter as weather forecasters predict colder temperatures in the Northeast that will drive up demand, according to a government report. The Energy Information Administration, which tracks and analyzes energy data, projects households will spend 19 percent more on average for heating oil and 15 percent more for natural gas from Oct. 1 to March 31, the period covered in its short- term energy and winter fuels outlook released today.
• Drought Cuts U.S. Crops Below Demand First Time in 38 Years. Drought damage to corn and soybean fields in the U.S., the world’s top grower and exporter, is eroding supplies of the nation’s two largest crops to below year-earlier consumption levels for the first time since 1974. 
• Gold Best of Biggest ETFs as Traders Seek Haven: Riskless Return. Exchange-traded funds tracking gold and inflation-protected Treasuries provided the best risk- adjusted returns of the biggest ETFs in the past five years as record stimulus by the Federal Reserve sent investors searching for inflation havens.

Wall Street Journal: 

• BAE-EADS Merger Collapses. Aerospace and defense companies BAE Systems BA.LN -1.38% PLC and European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. EAD.FR +5.29% called off their planned merger after the U.K., France and Germany failed to agree on how much influence they should have over the combined entity.  
• Romney Takes Lead in Poll Benchmark. Mitt Romney has inched ahead of President Barack Obama for the first time in a year in a widely watched benchmark – the aggregation of national polls developed by Real Clear Politics website. Mr. Romney’s breakthrough came Tuesday, when he ended the president’s unbroken general-election lead in the aggregate, which the website compiles by averaging recent national polls. As of Wednesday morning, Mr. Romney was ahead 48% to 47.2%. 
• U.S. Scaled Back Libya Security Before Attack. The State Department scaled back security in Libya in the months leading up to the deadly Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, a former security official told Congress on Wednesday. At the start of a contentious hearing on the assault, Lt. Col. Andrew Wood told lawmakers that diplomatic security teams were gradually withdrawn from the country earlier this year, despite concerns that threats to Westerners were on the rise. 
• China IMF Cancellations Raise Concerns. Souring relations between Japan and China, which suffered another blow Wednesday when China's central-bank governor and finance minister pulled out of a high-profile gathering of global finance chiefs in Tokyo, are starting to cause serious economic damage that could deepen if passions stay high, investors, analysts and politicians here warned. The revelation that China's two highest-level delegates had withdrawn from the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Tokyo amid an escalating dispute between Asia's two biggest economies, sent stocks to a two-month low and heightened worries about real-world impacts. 
• Wall Street Jobs May Shrink Further. Wall Street has cut 1,200 jobs since the beginning of 2012 and could contract further over the remainder of the year, while the securities industry's cash-bonus pool is expected to decline for the second consecutive year, according to a report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
• China Car Sales Fall Amid Japan Tensions.

Zero Hedge:

• JOLTS Drop Un-Confirms BLS 'Reality' (graph)  
• Two Charts To Strike Fear In The Heart Of Euro Bulls. 
• Europe Ends Red With Sovereigns Seeing Selling-Pattern Seven Days-In-A-Row. (graphs)  
• Is The IMF Now Recommending Capital Controls...?

Business Insider:

• CHART OF THE DAY: Corporate Profit Margin Expectations Are Out Of Control. 
• Joe Biden's Image Has Sunk Dramatically In The Past Four Years.  
• Walmart(WMT) Workers Are Threatening To Strike On Black Friday. 
• All Evidence Points To Obama Raising Middle Class Taxes By $4,000 A Year. 
• Here's What Actually Went Down During The US Consulate Last Month In Benghazi. 
• 'The Debt Super-Cycle Goes Into Orbit'. (graph) 
• Global Food Crisis Risk Is Soaring [MAP]. 
• The Horrific, Worst-Case Scenario For Spain.  
• DYLAN GRICE: This Keynes Quote Sums Up Our Worst Fears About Easy Monetary Policy. 
• DAVID ROSENBERG: Here's Your Big Red Flag That We Could Be Heading For Recession. (graph) 
• The China-Japan Dispute Isn't Getting Any Better, And Now Taiwan Is Jumping Into The Fray. 

Telegraph: 

• Angela Merkel's visit to Greece: what the papers say. "Disgusting" protests, "outrageous" support from Germany's left wing leader for his Greek counterpart and "relief and satisfaction" is some of the media reaction following Angela Merkel's meeting with Antonis Samaras on Tuesday.

Rheinische Post:

• Germany Sees Significant Economy Downside Risks. German economy "developing with noticeably subdued dynamic," citing economy ministry's report for October. Sentiment among entrepreneurs has continued to deteriorate. The increase in employment has stalled for first time in 2 years.

Onda Cero radio:

• Almunia Says Catalan Independence Would Mean EU Exit. Catalonia would cease to be a member of the EU if it became independent from Spain, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia was quoted as saying in an interview.

IIFL:

• S&P sees significant chance of India rating downgrade. S&P says that India's rating downgrade is likely if growth prospects dim, external position deteriorates, political climate worsens or fiscal reforms slow.